On a bi-weekly basis, CAR welcomes our audience to decompress with our President and CEO, Carla Bailo, as she covers and shares her thoughts on the latest Hot Topics happening in the automotive industry. While the biweekly newsletter primarily covers three topics, this feature story previews one of the topics covered on June 10, 2022. If you would like access to the full newsletter for better insights into critical industry issues you and your organization are facing, sign up for our mailing list here.
HOT TOPICS 6/6/2022 – 6/10/2022
EV Charging
- Biden announces standards to make electric vehicle charging stations accessible
- Volta Launches Program To Make EV Charging More Accessible, Affordable
- Canadian EV charging company invests $3M in Michigan for first U.S. facility
- Almost a Quarter of All Public EV Chargers in the Bay Area Don’t Work, Study Finds
- An EV charging rebate program expands in Massachusetts – here’s why it matters
- Michigan pushes for more electric vehicle charging stations
Carla’s thoughts:
The charging standards announcement by the Biden Administration are sorely needed to gain customer acceptance of EVs. Lack of charging infrastructure and maintenance are key complaints in this demographic. Also, due to the variety of charging plugs, the exact specifications must be clear on the charger.
But, I do caution on the point of distance between charging stations. This distance may be nonsensical, and it probably makes sense to understand the customer demographics and EV buyer density to determine the number and density of stations. We need to understand who is buying EVs and where they are regularly driving – we have that data and can make an excellent analysis. This analysis will allow us to deploy these stations at the right place for the right user. Let’s use data to make intelligent decisions here. As we know, gas stations are far from being equally spaced, which was done very purposefully (although I know driving in rural areas with low fuel in the morning can be very upsetting).
Further, we need to have cloud infrastructure communications between the charging infrastructure and the vehicle that directs a user to the charging station, makes a reservation for them, confirms it is operable, and more to ease the angst for the EV user. It must be seamless for them to transition to an EV experience from an internal combustion engine experience. Seamless, friendly, and stress-free…sounds great, huh?
Lastly, we need solutions for MUDs (multi-unit dwellings) and urban dwellers. I see extension cords running from houses to street parking (over sidewalks) in many urban areas – this isn’t sustainable. Let’s consider how we can use dollars to fix this situation, as urban dwellers are the most likely candidates for an EV purchase or lease.
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Carla Bailo
President & CEO
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